Three of New Orleans's drainage pumps not working during the Aug. 5 flood have been repaired, but another pump in Lower Coast Algiers has been turned off for routine maintenance, Mayor Mitch Landrieu's administration announced Monday (Aug. 21). That leaves 105 of the city's 120 pumps primed to respond to a sudden heavy rainfall.

The three-steps-forward, one-step-back routine highlights the continued precarious condition of a drainage system upon which New Orleans residents depend. Confusion and misinformation that flowed to the public after the Aug. 5 flood led to loud outcries, the firings of top officials and a state of emergency as contractors hustled to repair the ailing system.

Repairs were made to a pump at Station No. 6 on the 17th Street Canal, another at Station No. 7 in City Park and another at Station No. 11 in Lower Coast Algiers, the same site where the pump was taken off line.

Landrieu's office announced that five unnamed contractors were working "around the clock" to fix the remaining 15 broken pumps. The true level of disrepair to the system as a whole remains elusive. The number of pumps that weren't working on Aug. 5 rose from seven initially to 17 as more information was disclosed.

UPDATE: After this story was published, Landrieu spokesman Tyronne Walker identified the contractors in an email as Conhagen, M.R. Pittman, Bollinger Shipyards, Philadelphia Gear, and Veolia, which was doing "conditions assessment & capacity testing."

The board also hired the engineering firm CH2M as project manager for the repair work, Walker said.

The water board has hooked up 16 emergency generators with seven more undergoing testing. Another three will be held in reserve and used as needed throughout hurricane season, according to the mayor's office.

The city's Department of Public Works has requested bids for $7 million in catch basin cleaning work. The city agency has cleared more than 450 catch basins and cleaned more than 13,450 feet of drain lines since Aug. 5, according to Monday's announcement.

Public Works is responsible for all drain pipes smaller than 36 inches in diameter. The Sewerage & Water Board is in charge of larger pipes as well as canals, pumps and pumping stations.

The City Council last week set aside $26 million to repair catch basins, install warning signals at often-flooded underpasses and pay for a detailed report of the failures that led to recent floods.

Landrieu is still seeking an outside firm to evaluate what went wrong Aug. 5 and during a July 22 flood. The analysis will also include a rundown of minor flooding on Aug. 8 and what led to a fire that knocked out an electricity-generating steam turbine at the S&WB's Carrollton power plant.

Residents can track which pumps are working at the water board's website.